


Graduation Day

by orphan_account



Category: Dancing with the Stars (US) RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-05
Updated: 2015-07-05
Packaged: 2018-04-07 19:05:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4274580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zendaya prepares for her graduation ceremony just as Val flies in from tour rehearsals to surprise her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Graduation Day

**Author's Note:**

> This is fiction, not reality.

“You look beautiful, Daya.”

Zendaya smiled her thanks up at her mom, her gaze meeting Claire’s in the mirror.  As she put in her second earring, she couldn’t help but notice the tears starting to collect in her mom’s eyes.  

“Mom, please don’t,” she said, reaching behind her for Claire’s hand.  Claire sniffled quietly before blinking the tears away.  

“I’m sorry,” Claire said. Bending forwards, she wrapped her arms around her daughter and squeezed.  “I just can’t believe my baby’s graduating.”  Zendaya smiled, covering her mother’s hands with her own.  

“I love you, you know,” she said.  Claire pressed her cheek to her daughter’s and closed her eyes, trying to capture the moment in her mind so she could relive it for years to come.

“Oh sweetheart, I love you too.  And I am  _so_ proud of you.”  They stayed like that for another minute, enjoying the quiet.  Although it would only include close friends and immediate family, Zendaya knew that the party following the ceremony was going to be anything  _but_ quiet, so she figured she should take advantage of it while she could.  

“Now let’s look at you,” Claire said, finally letting her go.  Zendaya rose from the stool, adjusting her weight in order to stand in the black heels adorning her feet.  She ran her hands down her dress, pausing at the slim black belt at her waist before continuing downwards to smooth the skirt.  

“What do you think?” she asked.

“I think my baby is all grown up,” Claire said.  “And she is absolutely beautiful.” 

* * *

After her mom left the room, probably to go make sure that everything had been picked up for the party, Zendaya walked over to the floor-length mirror in the corner of her room.  The dress came down to her knees, the ruched bodice clinging to her upper body before gracefully flaring out away from her hips.  It looked sophisticated and classic from the front, but a bit more daring from the back.  She turned her body slightly in order to see the dramatic plunge of the material, exposing the caramel expanse of her spine and shoulders.  

_Now_  she remembered why she had been so enamored by this dress in the store.

Sighing quietly, she was slightly disappointed that they weren’t allowed to wear something with more color. She loved her dress, but it was just so…so  _black and white._ Regret pierced her as she remembered that the dress had been offered in another color scheme, one with swirls of blue and green. She would’ve loved to wear something that popped a bit more.  

Glancing around her room, she tried to think of an accessory that she could add that would provide a bit more color but wouldn’t be so obnoxious that it looked unprofessional. Her eyes landed on the evil eye bracelets on her bedside table and she immediately crossed to them.  

Val had to be in Atlantic City for tour rehearsals, so he wasn’t going to be able to make it, but remembering back to the graduation party on set and bowling at the wrap party, she couldn’t be too disappointed.  He had still taken the time to see her and support her over the last six months, more so than most people even really knew, and she refused to let his absence in this one moment take away from all the time they had spent together. Anyone could be there to experience the happiness of the big moments, but not everyone was willing to endure the small, sometimes painful moments that led up to them.  

Without second guessing the instinct, she put on the bracelets.  She would miss him, but in this way he would still be with her every step of the way.

* * *

“Is he here yet?” Claire asked quietly as she entered the kitchen.  

“Kaz just pulled in with him,” Dom answered from her seat at the table.  Less than a minute later, Val was walking into the room, a backpack slung over his shoulder.  Kaz followed him in, setting his keys on the counter and slapping Val lightly on the back before following the sounds of his family into the living room.  Val sat his backpack on the floor and Claire immediately went over to hug him, welcoming him to one of his many homes.  

“Thank you for making the trip.  I know it’s going to be short and add quite a bit of stress to your schedule, but it’ll mean so much to her that you’re here.”

“I knew that you were going to send me pictures and videos, but I really wanted to be here,” he answered. “As soon as you asked if we could swing it, I was on board.”

“Hi Dom,” he added upon noticing her.  “Where’s Dej?”

“She’s on her way.  Running late as usual,” she laughed.  

Letting go of Claire, he asked, “Where is she?”

“Upstairs,” Claire answered. “Go surprise her.”  

He nodded, leaving them behind and making his way out into the hallway.  He took the steps two at a time, for some reason becoming more and more impatient to see her as he got closer to her.  Her bedroom door was pushed open slightly and he paused to watch her check her appearance in the mirror.  

Goddamn _, that_   _dress!_ The way it hugged her curves, the way the back dipped down…she looked gorgeous.  Of course, he was a little biased, as he thought she looked gorgeous in anything.  

She turned side to side, taking in the dress.  As she moved, he watched the fabric float and flirt with her knees.  She glanced around, apparently looking for something before crossing to the table beside her bed.  She picked something up and, as she slipped them on her wrist, he felt his stomach clench.

_The evil eyes.  She just put on her evil eyes._

Running her fingers over them, she swallowed hard.  

“How’s my Dayachka?” he asked, knocking on the door.  Her head snapped up and their gazes met.  Eyes, widening, she sucked in a surprised breath.  

“V-Val?” she stuttered.

“Hi baby girl,” he said, pushing open the door and stepping into the room.  In one of her less than graceful moments, she launched herself around the bed and into his arms.  His hands came up to rest on her back and met her soft, warm skin.  

God, he  _loved_ this dress.

“You’re here,” she said, leaning away from him.  Her entire face lit up with happiness from the inside out, her smile a mile wide.  She stole the breath from his lungs without even realizing she did so.  

“You’re really here! I can’t believe you’re here!  How are you here?”  Getting momentarily distracted, her smile suddenly faded and she smacked his shoulder.  “Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were going to be here?”

Val laughed.  “Babe, I didn’t even know until a few days ago and I didn’t want to get your hopes up only to let them down if it didn’t work out at the last minute.”

She nodded her acceptance before allowing her smile to return and hugging him again.  As he buried his face into her neck and breathed her in, her fingers traced patterns on the back of his neck.  

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” And it was true.  It was insane how intertwined their lives had become in such a short amount of time.  Being away from her even for a few weeks was like being parted from his heart…because she  _was_ his heart.  

“How long are you here for?”

“Just tonight.  I have to fly back to New Jersey in the morning.”

They stopped talking, letting silence envelope them.  Because of their busy schedules, they hardly ever got moments like this where it was just them alone…together.  Knowing that it couldn’t last much longer, they were taking full advantage of it.  

“I have something for you,” Val said finally.

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” she answered, allowing him to pull away.  “You being here is gift enough.”

He pulled out a small, velvet-covered box from his pocket and knew that she would recognize it as something from a jewelers.  

“But since you already got it, why not?” she said.  He laughed and took her hand before leading her over to the floor-length mirror.  He placed her in front of it before standing behind her.  Handing her the box, he waited while she opened it.  

* * *

Her heart was still pounding from Val’s first surprise – seeing him standing in the doorway of her room in black slacks and a white shirt – and now he had another one.  Meeting his gaze in the mirror, she smiled at him before flipping the lid of the box open.  Nestled against black velvet was a silver-chained necklace.  She would’ve loved anything that Val picked out for her, but the pendant…the pendant made this necklace so much more than an ordinary piece of jewelry.  It made it about  _them._ The thin outline of a star had been dipped in white gold.  Three smaller stars adorned the middle of it, two of them plain white gold and one encrusted with diamonds.  

_She’s a star now.  Mark my words – I’ve worked with her for three weeks.  She’s going to be a star.  Superstar.  My little big star.  My little shining light._

“I saw it in a window in New York and thought of you,” he said quietly.  “That was before I knew that I was going to be flying out.  I figured that I would just mail it to you, but…I think giving it in person is more meaningful.”  She traced her thumb over it before looking up at him, their eyes locking in the reflection of the mirror.  

“I love it, Val.” Making another impulsive decision, she removed it from the box.  “Will you help me put it on?”

Their fingers brushed as he took it from her and clasped it around her neck.  She slid her fingers along the chain, up, up, up until they met his. He took her hand in his and pressed a kiss to it.  

“I’m so glad that you’re here,” she whispered.  “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”  

He stepped closer to her, the fabric of his dress shirt brushing against the exposed skin on her back. Turning her head to face him, his eyes flickered down to her lips.  He leaned in, as though drawn to them like a moth to a flame.  Her eyes slid closed as she waited…waited for the press of his lips against hers.

“Zendaya!  Val!”  

They both jumped apart as though they had been burned.  

“We need to leave in a few minutes!” her mom called up the stairs.  

Zendaya let out a shaky breath before glancing over at Val.  He was watching her, taking in her reaction.  

“We’re obviously going to have to talk about that,” he finally said.  “But for now, I think we should go down.”  Zendaya nodded in agreement, not knowing how to put her emotions into words in such a short amount of time, and they made their way into the hallway.  Just as they came to the crest of the stairs, she took his hand in hers.  Their fingers interlocked, she paused and looked over at him.

He raised his eyebrow in question.   _What?_

Reaching up with her other hand to play with the star dangling from her neck, she said, “You were the only one missing.”


End file.
